Canada: Canada”s first earth observation satellite has been officially declared non-operational after a final anomaly consigned the satellite to what will be a very slow de-orbit to a final fiery burn-up in the Earth”s atmosphere.
The anomaly that took RADARSAT-1 out of commission on March 29th wasn”t its first, but it was its last.
RADARSAT-1”s mission was to monitor environmental changes and the planet”s natural resources. Launched in November of 1995, its lifespan was to have been five years. However it lasted well beyond the original factory warranty to work another 12 years for a total service time of 17 years.
Ironically, it was just over a year ago when Europe”s newer ENVISAT satellite went offline and for which RADARSAT-1 was tasked to help fill-in with the lost access to data.
Source: Space Ref
